1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cartoner having a carrier that extends product into a carton where the product is maintained as the carrier is withdrawn.
2. Description of Related Art
Cartoners are used in varied applications requiring the placement of a product or products, such as food, pharmaceuticals, beverages and other items, into cartons or boxes. Cartoners traditionally require: a carton chain to transport empty cartons for filling; a product chain for transporting product to the carton chain; and a barrel loader for pushing the product from the product chain to the empty cartons on the carton chain. Such systems therefore result in product that is out of the positive control of the equipment during transition from the product chain to the carton chain, i.e., as the product is pushed or swept into the carton by the barrel loader.
Product may become damaged, may cause line stoppages or may result in partially filled and/or overfilled cartons when outside of the positive control of the cartoner. In addition, such systems that permit pushing or sweeping of product into cartons may result in slower line speeds.
Traditional cartoners often include buckets having fixed sidewalls for transporting product. As a result, products that require settling and/or other conditioning, such as bags of grain, cereal, chips or similar products, often require additional equipment such as collation systems or stacking systems to line-up, condition and distribute the product into the buckets of the product chain. Absent such additional equipment, such products are prone to damage and causing line stoppages during the cartoning process.